


Surprise

by alistairweekend



Series: Multi-Warden!AU [5]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff, Multiple Wardens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2015-02-28
Packaged: 2018-03-15 17:05:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3455015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alistairweekend/pseuds/alistairweekend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nialiss has finally returned Leivi's feelings, but the way she does so is unexpected and poor Leivi has no idea how to react.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Surprise

She had kissed him.

The sentence cycled through Leivi’s mind endlessly, drowning out all other thoughts, from the moment Nialiss had pulled away until they were back at camp that night sitting in front of the fire. She hadn’t spoken to him since it had happened, but it was probably a good thing considering Leivi wouldn’t have been able to articulate any words if his life had depended on it.

He replayed the scene in his head. They had been fighting, bandits on the road, nothing unusual… But one of them had taken a swipe at his head, blade coming close enough to graze his hair. Leivi was unscathed, but as he took out his assailant he had met Nialiss’ gaze from across the battlefield; she had seen the close call, and her eyes had gone wide in alarm. It was not a common expression on her face, but Leivi hardly had time to marvel over it as the battle continued.

Then the fighting ended, and before Leivi even had a chance to speak Nialiss had stormed to his side, grabbing his face in her hands and smashing their mouths together. The action was rough and frustrated and not very pretty at all — nothing like Leivi’s daydreams — but it was enough to effectively stop his heart and brain from functioning. After a moment, Nialiss abruptly let go, not meeting his gaze and rubbing her mouth, pale skin allowing the blush on her cheeks to manifest in a very noticeable bright red, and Leivi was left to stare in slack-jawed awe as she walked away.

Now the daze was wearing off, but it only cleared his mind enough to make room for a more coherent reaction. What did this  _mean_?

Well, obviously it meant that she had feelings for him. That she  _returned_  his feelings for her. The thought finally kicked his stomach into action, overdue butterflies springing to life, and suddenly Leivi wanted to curl into a ball and make some awfully unattractive noises. However, all the people present prevented him from doing so.

It occurred to Leivi that he could use his neck muscles to observe said people. He glanced around, actually registering what everyone was doing. Most were absorbed in their dinner — it was odd to think that their world was not affected as his was. They hadn’t seen what Nialiss had done. Did they know? Did they care? They should care.

Leah and Leliana, however, were whispering far too urgently for his liking. Were they talking about him? Leivi squinted at his twin sister across the fire, but she took no note. Zevran seemed to be in on their conversation as well, which did nothing to assuage Leivi’s suspicions.

Then Nialiss caught his eye, inevitably. Her white hair was bright in the dusk, the fire’s glow dancing on her face and illuminating her down-turned pink eyes. She sat isolated from everyone else in the corner, picking halfheartedly at her food. Anxiety burrowed its way into Leivi’s heart, and he looked away and back into the fire, thoughts racing now. Was she regretting her actions?

He didn’t know what to do. He wanted her. He wanted her so, so badly. And he’d been convinced for the longest time that she wasn’t interested in him beyond friendship. Which he understood, honestly. Not only was he a blundering mess, but Nialiss had been torn from her home and lost her best friend not once but three times in the course of less than a year, having to kill him with her own hands in the end. She yelled and snapped at anyone bothering her, but if you had her respect she listened earnestly to what you had to say. Leivi saw her when she thought no one was watching with soft features, a calm almost-smile gracing her red lips as she looked at the sky or fed Leah’s mabari a scrap of meat.

Leivi would not have blamed her if she wasn’t looking for romance. But he couldn’t help but  _wonder_ , what it would be like for her to smile so gently without worrying that he was looking, how her skin felt, how her lips tasted. It had been a curiosity burning intensely within him and occasionally causing him to slip up in his actions, but it was overall  _contained_. Until the kiss had thrown everything off-kilter. What was he going to do if she retracted her affection? Or even broke off their  _friendship_? What if—

Leivi sensed a movement beside him, and turned his head to see Nialiss taking a seat on the log next to him. His breath caught in his throat, but Nialiss didn’t look at him or speak. She did, however, scoot closer to him until her side pressed against his, a quiet confirmation that no, she did not take back what she had done.

The redheaded elf felt his heart explode in his chest, restraining every fiber of his being to not break into a grin and whoop and shout in joy right then and there. Instead his eagerness channeled into his hand, which reached out to grab Nialiss’, gripping it much too tight. She stiffened for only a brief moment before curling her fingers around his in return.

“Hi,” she whispered, and Leivi saw the red creep into her cheeks once more in the flickering light, making it hard to discern her _vallaslin_.

“Hi,” he replied, unable to hold back a smile. It was a start.


End file.
